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BOOKS Building a better broth The publication of Brodo ($20; Pam Krauss Books) by chef Marco Canora is well timed as winter is the perfect season for simmering a big pot of broth. Canora sells his own broth from a take-out window at Hearth, his Manhattan restaurant, and his book touts the healing properties of drinking broth daily. While some claims may be debatable, there’s no doubt that a well-made broth is a wonderful thing. Along with more than a dozen different broths, there are short recipes for tasty additions and recipes that put broth to delicious use. Even if you’ve been reluctant to jump on the bone-broth bandwagon, this book may inspire you to make your own, a timeless endeavor that never goes out of style. —J.S. TECHNIQUE Crimping calzones As with pie, there are many ways to seal and crimp a calzone, but here is a method we like: Starting at one side, stretch a bit of the bottom lip of dough, fold it onto the top lip of dough, and press it firmly with your finger. Continue around the calzone to create a tight, good-looking seal. —R.D. CEYLON CINNAMON CASSIA CINNAMON INGREDIENT Mexican cinnamon T e cinnamon most likely stocked in your supermarket’s spice rack is cassia cinnamon (also called Chinese cinnamon). It’s got a strong, aromatic fl avor: think Red Hots. But in Mexico, where they call cinnamon canela, the most commonly used cinnamon is Ceylon, which has a more subtle fl avor with fl oral and citrus notes. T ough all cinnamon comes from the inner bark of trees from the genus Cinnamomum, Ceylon cinnamon, which the Spanish brought to Mexico via Sri Lanka, comes from a diff erent species than cassia. So integral is Ceylon cinnamon to Mexican cuisine that it’s also called Mexican cinnamon. T ough it’s sold ground, Mexican cinnamon is commonly used in stick form, which—unlike the harder cassia sticks—is easy to crumble and grind. You can use cassia in place of Mexican cinnamon and vice versa (cassia is more widely available and usually less expensive), but there will be a slight variation in the dish’s fl avor. Look for it in Latin markets, or see Sources (p. 96). —J.S. FINECOOKING.COM 91 INGREDIENT Mezcal vs. tequila The chocolate truffles on page 83 get their smoky flavor from mezcal (also spelled mescal). Like its cousin tequila, mezcal, which originated with the Aztecs, is made from the hearts of agave plants, which grow abundantly throughout Mexico. But while tequila must include at least 51% blue agave, mezcal may be made from different species of agave. The production also differs. For most tequila, the hearts are baked in giant autoclaves. For mezcal, the hearts are cooked in underground pits fueled by wood fire, which gives mezcal its smoky flavor. Some mezcals include a worm (actually a larva found in agave plants) in the bottle. The practice has been around only since the mid-20th century, when some mass producers began adding it as a marketing ploy. As with tequila, mezcal can range widely in style, age, quality, and price, from about $25 for a bottle of the widely distributed Monte Alban (above) to $75 and up (in some cases way up) for a small-batch artisanal bottle meant to be sipped like a fine Scotch or Cognac. —Neema Syovata